--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- John Bickley: Ten state governors traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to demand action after more than two weeks of silence from President Biden on the crisis. Either he's unwilling to solve this crisis or he doesn't know how. So we're here to offer solutions. We're not going to sit around while Joe Biden refuses to act. The governors presented a 10-point plan to secure the border and end what they're calling chaos, crisis, and a lack of leadership.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, October 8th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Australia has imposed some of the world's strictest controls over its citizens to enforce its zero-COVID policy. But now its political leaders are changing their tune. We'll discuss Australia's new national plan for COVID, as well as allegations of political corruption. And 18 former NBA players have been indicted on charges of defrauding the league of nearly $4 million through its health and benefits plan. We'll look at the details of the alleged scheme and the consequences the former players now face.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Inflation is destroying the dollar. Birch Gold Group can help. Protect your IRA or 401k with a precious metals IRA. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim a free info kit on physical gold and silver. There's zero obligation. Text the word WIRE to 989898 to protect your savings today.
--:-- John Bickley: This week, nine Republican governors joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the southern border to denounce President Biden's handling of what they're calling a crisis on multiple levels. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire Managing Editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, give us some details here. What exactly went down at the border?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Absolutely. So on Wednesday, nine GOP governors from states like Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, and Nebraska held a press conference with Governor Abbott to denounce President Biden's handling of the border. They say Biden created a humanitarian crisis. And in response, they offered a 10-point plan for the president to take up. The governors insist that the Biden administration reinstate the effective plans that were put in place by President Trump.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The governors called for the president to end the controversial catch and release policy, which has allowed for the majority of families coming across the border to be released into the U.S. after detention, even though in the past up to 20 percent of migrants coming across have tested positive for COVID.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On that note, they also called for the president to reinstate Title 42, which requires illegal immigrants to be deported if they pose a health risk, in this case, if they test positive for COVID. Right. They also called on the president to resume the deportation of illegal immigrants found to have a criminal record. That's something that largely ceased after President Trump left office.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And as you'd expect, they called on federal agencies to send more law enforcement officers to the border. The group noted that even though they've begun to deploy their own people to the border, The job of protecting the border is a federal responsibility and shouldn't really fall on them.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So that's what they saying should be done in the future. What about the crisis itself in terms of causes? Did they speak to that?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, there are a few things they mentioned. First, they blamed the crisis in part on President Biden's decision to end the so-called remain in Mexico policy, which kept potential migrants and asylum seekers in the countries where they came from while they waited for their immigration hearings.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The governor said that once that order was reversed, thousands of migrants were released into the country and then never appeared for their court dates. They also said it was no coincidence that in the months after Biden's election, the number of illegal border crossings hit numbers that hadn't been seen in decades, with the number of migrants detained there increasing from 16,000 a month last April to 200,000 a month over the summer.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right, those record numbers we've been tracking. Yeah. They say the president's soft rhetoric and lax border policies have been incentivizing people to come here illegally. And they also blamed the president's immigration policies for the increase in fentanyl overdoses over the last year.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Governor Mike DeWine from Ohio, for example, noted the impact on his state. So in Ohio, at least 80% of our overdose deaths every week are caused by fentanyl. This crisis at the southern border is a humanitarian crisis. It's also a drug crisis.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On that topic, the governor's also noted that the DEA has already seized more fentanyl at the border this year than the last three years combined. Whoa. Yeah, it's enough fentanyl seized so far this year to kill the entire population of the United States seven times over. Oh my gosh. That's just incredible.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We're actually looking into the fentanyl issue next week. So, you know, I've got to ask it, are there politics at play here?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Come on, you got to know by now, John, there are always politics at play. Look, Republicans clearly view immigration as a winning issue right now. They're well aware that at the moment, Democrats are being skewered in the polls, for lack of a better term, when it comes to their handling of the border.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: One recent poll had President Biden's approval rating on immigration at 25 percent. So this is obviously an issue that's affecting millions of people in the states that these governors head up. But from a political standpoint, Republicans do want to highlight what they view as a Democratic failure and kind of provide a contrast for voters as midterms approach.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, November 2022 is coming up quickly. Before you know it. Thanks, Cabot. Anytime. Daily Wire Managing Editor, Cabot Phillips.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- John Bickley: Coming up, Australia plans to open its borders for the first time since March of 2020. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be the first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news. And you'll get content from all of your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts, no matter where your day takes you.
--:-- John Bickley: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia has enforced some of the world's strictest controls over their population, including widespread lockdowns and travel restrictions. However, in the past few days, several stories from Australia indicate that things may be changing. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So Ian, what's new in Australia?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, Australia is looking to reopen its international border in November. And since the beginning of the pandemic, Australia effectively closed their borders with Australians even banned from leaving the country. Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was time to give Australians their lives back.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So give us a little background. They've been closed since early 2020. Is that correct?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, that's right. Australia and to a similar extent New Zealand had a pretty aggressive strategy when it came to handling the COVID-19 pandemic. And this included closing the border. Their goal was basically zero COVID. This means aiming for no cases and no spread and the use of heavy-handed enforcement tools to try and make this all happen.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And as we discussed before on the show, this led to widespread protests with some instances of violence. And I'm sure we've all seen those viral videos showing police arresting people for not wearing a mask or for being outside when they shouldn't or for exercising in the wrong place.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, things now look like they're finally changing in Australia, or at least starting to change. For example, on Monday, it was reported that Australia will be buying 300,000 doses of Merck's experimental COVID-19 antiviral pill. This kind of shows that they're going to be expecting cases rather than trying to eradicate cases.
--:-- Ian Howarth: This is the pill that's been in the news, which could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalized for high-risk COVID patients. Again, it hasn't been approved by regulators yet. Merck is seeking emergency use here in the U.S.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But this is a surprising move for a country that has been so beyond careful in the past. So why would they be making this change now? Well, there's a couple of things to understand here. Even though Victoria, for example, hit a case record in recent days, the actual raw number of cases in Australia is still incredibly low when we look at other countries.
--:-- Ian Howarth: We're talking about a total of 1,763 new infections reported in Victoria, which is a state with a population of over 6.6 million people. But the broad reason is a pivot in COVID strategy from eradicating COVID to living with COVID through things like vaccinations and therapies.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And this is a strategy outlined by the Australian Prime Minister as far back as late August. The national plan we have developed and agreed is our pathway to living with this virus. That is our goal.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But then there's one other layer here which is being missed when it comes to another politician, which is a layer of alleged corruption. Just days ago, the former leader of New South Wales announced that she was going to be resigning after the state's corruption watchdog said it was investigating her.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And this is the politician that's being really heavily criticised for draconian COVID measures. Therefore, it pains me to announce that I have no option but to resign from the office of Premier. And what were they investigating her for? Well, the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption said they were looking into whether some of her actions between 2012 and 2018 may have breached public trust, specifically whether there was a conflict of interest between her public duties and private interests.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So this is nothing to do with COVID-19? Yeah, nothing to do with COVID-19, but we shouldn't forget that as leader of Australia's largest state, she was facing growing criticism over what many people were saying was an authoritarian handling of COVID-19, as I said.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So it's hard to imagine that this didn't play at least some small factor here. What's going to be interesting moving forward, though, is whether a change of leadership in New South Wales specifically will mean a change in COVID strategy and how this will play into Australia's move towards, as their prime minister put it, living with the virus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, despite the issues that may have been caused by the recent corruption, it seems like the shift towards living with the virus is kind of a positive change. Yeah, definitely true. Ian, thanks for the update. That's Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- John Bickley: A multi-million dollar scandal has engulfed the NBA. At least 18 former players have been charged in connection with a sprawling health benefits fraud scheme. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Thanks for coming on, Joe. Yeah, John. So the big news Thursday is that 18 former NBA players were charged with defrauding the NBA's health benefit plan. What's the story here?
--:-- Joe Morgan: Well, there's a lot to it. The players are charged with submitting false reimbursement claims for medical and dental services, which began in 2017 to the NBA's health and welfare benefit plan. It provides players with an HRA benefit and contributions into a health reimbursement account during and after players careers.
--:-- Joe Morgan: In total about 3 million in false claims were sought out and about 2 million were paid out to the players. So a little under 4 million total and about 2 to the players. Yes, correct. They have all been charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.
--:-- Joe Morgan: As you said, 16 were arrested as of Thursday and 19 have been charged in total, the 19th person being an unnamed spouse. So who exactly is involved? There's some big names here, right?
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, there's some pretty well-known names on the list, actually, but let's start with Terrence Williams, who played four years in the NBA, including stints in Boston and Houston. He's the alleged ringleader of the scheme. According to U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, Williams obtained fraudulent invoices for medical records, which he would then send to the co-conspirators.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Okay. The co-conspirators, in turn, would submit the invoices to the benefits plan, which would pay out the claims, and then in many cases send a kickback to Williams. Williams received $230,000 in kickbacks as part of the scheme and in one case allegedly tried to, quote, frighten someone who failed to pay him by impersonating an official. He faces an additional charge of aggravated identity theft for that alleged incident.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Another former player, Gregory Smith, allegedly submitted 48,000 worth of claims for dental work done in an office in Beverly Hills, California, but was in Taiwan playing basketball on the week he claimed to have received the dental work. Are dentists doing remote work now, too? Maybe this is dentistry by Zoom.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, COVID's an interesting time. In another instance, three former players submitted claims for dental work, including root canals and crowns, on the same six sets of teeth. Six sets, huh? Yeah. Some of the other names included Darius Miles. Darius was drafted up high school by the LA Clippers in 2000 and was expected to be the next great player to go straight from high school to the NBA.
--:-- Joe Morgan: His career did not turn out as many expected. He played for four teams in seven NBA seasons. Tony Allen is probably the player with the most prominent NBA career, playing 14 years in the league and making the all-NBA defensive team six times. This is a fun quote that I love from Kobe Bryant. He called him the best defender I ever faced.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So some pretty high-profile players here involved in this. Definitely ones that we've heard of and watched before, yeah. Wow. Well, thanks for the reporting, Joe. Thanks, John. Daily Wire sports reporter, Joe Morgan.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week. On Thursday, the Senate reached a short-term deal to raise the debt ceiling to avert an upcoming default on October 18th. The deal will fund borrowing through December 3rd. Pfizer asked the United States government on Thursday to permit the use of its vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. If successful, children could start getting vaccinated in a number of weeks.
--:-- John Bickley: After hearing arguments regarding the lawsuit brought against Texas by the Biden administration, a U.S. district judge appointed by Barack Obama issued an order blocking the state's new pro-life law. And on Wednesday, Los Angeles City Council approved one of the strictest COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the country. Starting in November, everyone age 12 and over must be fully vaccinated in order to enter bars, gyms, restaurants or other indoor facilities.
--:-- John Bickley: Persons with religious or medical exemptions will be required to present proof of a negative test obtained within the last 72 hours. If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know. If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
